Ahh Spring

In Maine this means several things all at once.

Mud. Mud comes to mind immediately. Black flies. Mosquitoes...

But for me...The Farm Stand is open! Thank what ever freaking deity you may hold holy!
Seriously.

Or sauteed. Or grilled. Or baked. Tasty goodness!

Don't get me wrong. I love Winter Squash and baked potatoes. Hell. I grew up in The County of Maine. I think they'd probably 'disappear' me quietly if I stopped eating potatoes. But a girl can only take so much. I need the fresh, warmed by the sun veggies. Granted, the pickings are slim right now. But I don't really care! Salad is back on the menu! With Fiddleheads! Steamed to perfection then just a dash of freshly ground pepper, kosher salt and a bit of cider vinegar.

Oh. And another thing that I'm very super excited about. The Winery's are opening! Sweet. Around here there is an abundance of local winery's. Some good, some great, some...lets call them young. Two of my absolute favorites are The Cellardoor. Beautiful place in Lincolnville, ME. Looks very much like Italy. And their wines are done quite well. They have a white called Perfect Stranger that goes with absolutely everything. Meats, fish, desserts, breakfast. Turkey. It's amazing.

The other place, opening on Mother's Day...very apropos...is Sweetgrass Farm Winery and Distillery. This one I'm more excited for their Distillery then their Winery, to be honest. Their Three Crow Rum is amazing. It tastes like melted, toasted brown sugar. The Peach Smash is a perfect end to a summer's evening. And I cannot say enough about the Back River Gin. Stellar. They even make their own bitters! Just incredible.

Go. Taste. You will wonder why you haven't before! Bring your student driver with you to drive you around...

Stewing in my Juices

Now that spring has sprung here in the Northeast (Though it's questionable that Winter ever sprung..so Spring Springing is somewhat anti climatic...) I am in the mood for that most seasonable of foods. Beef Stew. Not sure why. Maybe there's a surplus of beef to be had and the Universe if having a sale. Who knows. Don't care. Want Stew.

Good stew. Not Dinty Moore crap ass from a can watery salty nasty can't taste my own tongue for a week beef stew. No. Homemade, stove top to oven takes 5 hours and you eat it for a week beef stew.

Growing up, I do not honestly remember having beef stew. This could be for two reasons. 1) My memory can be crap, and we possibly had it every month. (Doubtful). 2) Beef is Pricey! Feeding 5 kids is not cheap, or easy, and I think the last thing my mom wanted to do was stand in the kitchen for 5 hours making stew that was going to be gone in 3 minutes. Though I do remember her making bread quite a bit..  My first 'memory' of anything close to Beef Stew was a dish that one of my parents made that was whole potatoes, whole carrots, whole onions, and a cut of beef. Probably a brisket. Then they had thrown a can of diced tomatoes, or tomato paste over the dish, covered it and baked it for, oh, forever. It was amazing.  Not stew, exactly. But whenever I make beef stew, that's the flavor that I'm aiming for.

I love making stew. It's so satisfying. Taking cheap cuts of meat, turning them into a meal that can last for days with minimal investment. I think it's one of the few forms of cooking that can truly be termed 'lazy'. You literally chop up a bunch of stuff, sear some meat, throw everything together and walk away. For HOURS. How many dishes can you do that with? Not many. Minimal effort. Huge Return. And, done right, the flavor! So many layers of flavors in stew. The bacon (oh yes...always),sear the beef,  then the mirepoix, which doesn't really add a single flavor so much as the basis for the stew. Caramelized goodness. Deglaze with wine. Add the potatoes and herbs. Stock. Then tomato. Then my secret ingredient. Which I will now give to you. Secretly. Shhh. Sweet Potato. Just enough so that when it breaks down in the oven it thickens everything up perfectly. Throw in oven. Forget about.

Stew. Mmmm.

Or Sushi. I'm always up for sushi.